‘The Notion that Dems Would Bail out Republicans Makes No Sense’
Republicans never would have saved Nancy Pelosi's job, if the situation was reversed
Since Rep Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) was ousted as House speaker Tuesday, there's been an effort to blame the debacle on Democrats, a sentiment shared by the former speaker himself.
Instigated by longtime McCarthy antagonist Rep Matt Gaetz (R-Fla) eight House Republicans joined all the chamber’s Democrats to remove McCarthy from atop the House in the first such ouster in US history.
And, almost immediately, fingers were pointed across the aisle at Democrats because they refused to rescue McCarthy.
“You sunk him! You sunk Kevin McCarthy!” Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro said on-camera, accusing Democrats. “Now stop it right now! The Democrats stick with each other. The Republicans shoot within the tent. And that is the problem.”
Ahead of the vote that stripped him of the gavel, McCarthy said, “I just would not understand if there’s a handful of Republicans who join Democrats who get to determine who’s the speaker of the House, but it is what it is.”
And angry Republicans who supported McCarthy sought revenge against Democrats for their votes. House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry ordered Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md) to vacate their “hideaway” offices in the Capitol. And this came as Pelosi wasn't even in Washington; she had returned to California for funeral ceremonies for her friend, the late Sen Dianne Feinstein.
Democrats, however, refused to take the blame.
“Let me first say, I’ve known Kevin McCarthy a long time, ever since we were both serving in the California state legislature. He was the son of a firefighter and he rose to occupy the highest legislative office in the land. I wish him well,” said Rep Ted Lieu (D-Calif). “Now, the notion that somehow Democrats would bail out the Republicans in this civil war makes no sense.
“If you remember, in January, we voted 15 rounds and every Democrat voted for Hakeem Jeffries because we believe Hakeem Jeffries should be speaker and would be a better speaker, and our actions were consistent with having Hakeem Jeffries be speaker,” Lieu added, referring to Jeffries (D-NY), who serves as House minority leader.
CNN host — and one-time personality on the right-wing Fox News — Chris Wallace also doesn't believe that it was the Democrats’ responsibility to save McCarthy.
“The Democrats? No. It’s not their job to save the Republican speaker,” Wallace said. “I mean, can you imagine if Nancy Pelosi was in trouble, back when she was speaker, and they were counting on Republicans to bail her out?”
He added: “There’s plenty of legitimate bad blood between Republicans and Democrats. Remember, it was Kevin McCarthy who right after January 6 said that Donald Trump was responsible for what had happened on that terrible day, and then a couple of weeks later he was down in Mar-a-Lago kissing the former president’s ring.
“So, there was not a lot of love lost between the Democrats and Kevin McCarthy. Not to say they were going to oust him, but they certainly weren’t going to save him,” Wallace said.
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